Trust
by Toria
Summary: Elrond and Thranduil do not get along. The Lord and Lady of the Wood step in and Legolas and Adela end up in Rivendell
1. The Decision

"Will you two please shut up! The reason we called you here is to stop this petty bickering!" Celeborn snapped at two elves.

Both Elrond and Thranduil shut up immediately but did not stop glaring at each other. The age-old argument had broken out again and Rivendell and Mirkwood still did not hold each other in trust. For this very reason Celeborn and Galadriel had summoned Elrond and Thranduil to Lorien to discuss the problem. For a problem it had become. Elves had come divided through this endless bickering and it was time for it to stop. The only way to do this was to get Elrond and Thranduil to trust each other.

"To get you both to co operate we have decided that you need to trust each other. And the greatest way to gain trust is to put your child under the care of another. It can also be very rewarding as me and my husband have enjoyed having the company of Arwen, Elladan and Elrohir here in Lorien throughout their childhoods," the Lady Galadriel told the two now-very-shocked Elves in front of them.

"Therefore we purpose that you Thranduil send your two youngest, the twins Legolas and Adela, to be raised by Lord Elrond in Rivendell for a while," Celeborn announced.

"We would have a child sent to you as well, Thranduil, but Elrond's children are grown," Galadriel said comfortingly.

"Very well," Thranduil said, knowing that it would be very unwise to disagree with the Lady and Lord of the Wood. "I shall bring the twins to Rivendell in two months time, just before the summer is over, they will have no wish to leave Mirkwood before then and my wife and myself would like some time with them beforehand," Thranduil told all of them and left.

He was going to head home to Mirkwood immediately and speak with his youngest. He had no desire for them to go to Rivendell especially as they were still very young, but it appeared he had not choice.

"Well, that went well," Celeborn sighed after Thranduil had left.

Elrond also excused himself. He also was heading home immediately to get ready for two new arrivals in his household.


	2. Telling The Twins

"Mama?"

"Yes Legolas?"

"When will Papa be home?"

"Probably not for many days, dear."

"Oh."

"Where is Adela?"

"Helping Danini make cakes, I was as well and I'm going back to help but we were wondering when Papa would be home," Legolas told her.

"Ok then sweetie, that nanny of yours is a real blessing," his mother told him.

Legolas giggled, "She's great," he told his mother.

"I know," she told him whilst opening one arm to him. Legolas went over and gave his mother a hug.

"I'm going to go back and help Danini and Adela now, ok?" he asked.

"Of course, honey. And don't you and Adela give Danini any trouble," she told him.

"We won't Mama," Legolas solemnly told his mother and ran off.

Meanwhile Thranduil had just entered the borders of Mirkwood and made his way towards his home as quickly as possible. At best this would take him about two hours and he hoped he wouldn't be delayed any longer than necessary anywhere.

By the time Thranduil reached his home the cakes where finished and the twins were outside running off some pent up energy. Dismounting his horse Thranduil called to them. "Legolas! Adela!"

"Papa!" came the cry back and the twins raced towards him. He bent down and swept them both off their feet in a gigantic bear hug. After placing them down, Legolas pulled back first.

"Mama said you weren't expected back for days," Legolas told him.

"I wasn't, but I have something very important to discuss with your mother, understand?" he asked them.

"Yes, Father," they chorused in unison.

"Good, now I must go speak with your Mother. Do not stay out too long for you will be expected to study for an hour before dinner, understand?" Thranduil asked his youngest two.

"Yes Father," came the chorus back.

"Good."

The twins spent ten more minutes outside and then ran to their house. The ran and changed out of their work clothes, shorts that came down to their knees and a long sleeved top and changed into their uniforms, pale blue shorts which came to just above their knees, a pale blue long sleeved top with a v-neck collar and green edging, white ankle socks and white shoes. Legolas re-tied his braids at the side of his head to keep his hair back and Adela tied the front part of her hair back in very tight scalp plaits which allowed the rest of her hair to hang loose down her back.

They then made their way towards the schoolroom where three of their older brothers were waiting. Thranduil had ten children altogether but the oldest three didn't take lessons with them anymore because they had grown up and now helped Thranduil keep everything running properly in Mirkwood.

After an hour of studying with their tutor, despite the fact hat it was summer and other elven children only had lessons between autumn and spring in Mirkwood, the seven of them went to have dinner with the rest of the family. All of them were dressed in their uniforms, as were their older brothers, who really weren't that much older but Thranduil was grooming them for leadership. The only difference in the uniform was that they had full-length trousers instead of shorts.

Dinner was a quiet affair and the children sensed that something was up with their parents so they stayed silent.

Once they had finished eating, Thranduil sent all of the children apart from Legolas and Adela to do another hour of studying and then lead the twins to his private study. Sitting down in a massive armchair, Thranduil pulled both of the twins onto his lap and hugged them close to his heart for a minute or two.

"What is it Papa?" Legolas asked. "Have we done something wrong?"

"No, my son," Thranduil replied with a sigh. "But upon orders from the Lady Galadriel and Lord Celeborn you have to go and be raised by Lord Elrond in Rivendell for a little while," Thranduil explained.

"Lord Elrond?!"

"Rivendell?!"

Both twins were shocked and let it be known.

"I know, I know, but your mother and I have decided that we can not go against the wishes of the Lady and Lord of the Golden Wood, so here it stands. I will take you to Rivendell just before the summer is out and before the first leaves begin to fall," Thranduil told them.

"Why us?" Adela whispered.

"Because you are my youngest and the Lord and Lady wish to build trust between Rivendell and Mirkwood," Thranduil said gently.

"Oh..." Legolas trailed off.

"You should go and get some rest," Thranduil told them, "this has been quite a shock and no doubt you wish to be alone with each other for a while," Thranduil showed that he knew his children very well with a slight smile.

The twins gave their father a tight hug before jumping off his lap and making there way to their room. Collapsing on his bed, Legolas spoke to his twin. "This is not fair!"

"It is not for us to decide," Adela reasoned softly, although she did not like the idea anymore than her brother did.

"We shall have to make the most of this summer," Legolas decided for the both of them.

"I wonder what will happen to Danini?" Adela asked.

"We'll ask father later. And speaking of Danini do you think she'll bring us one of the cakes we made when she brings us our glass of milk before turning out our lamp?" Legolas asked hopefully.

"Hopefully," Adela told him with a giggle, "but for now shall we read?"

The twins settled together on their high windowsill and read a page at a time to each other from the book they were currently reading together.

All too soon they were tucked up in bed for the night and they still had not come to terms with the news that they would have to leave Mirkwood soon.


	3. Setting Off

Waking up slowly their situation dawned on the twins immediately. Adela got out of bed first and quickly dressed in her uniform, they had to study all day today.

"Just think, after this summer we aren't going to wake up in this room anymore," Legolas said glumly.

"Let's not dwell on that thought, the summer will be over before we know it and thinking about the end will not help us," Adela suggested.

"Yeah, good idea. At least we have an afternoon of history with Danini today," Legolas said brightening up.

History was the twins' favourite subject and they both excelled at it. They were good students in everything and very quick studies but because they enjoyed history they put a lot more time and effort into it than they did with their other subjects. Going towards the dining room quickly they met their father and fell in three steps behind him and slightly to the right, how they'd been trained to all their lives. Reaching the dining hall they were instantly hugged by their mother who shared a worried look with their father. This done nothing to make the twins feel any better. When their older brothers came in their father motioned them all over to him and the twins were once again engulfed in a hug from their mother. They knew that their father was telling their brothers about what was going on and they instantly got sympathetic looks from their older brothers. But this wasn't such a bad thing because it meant that they would probably spoil them rotten for the rest of the summer. Legolas and Adela weren't about to complain!

After breakfast all of Thranduil's children made their way towards the schoolroom where they would be sorted into groups to do different tasks. Legolas and Adela were to go with their oldest brother to have a lesson in Literature. The best place for this was the library. The twins loved the library and since their older brother was teaching them it was even better. He wasn't as strict on them as their tutor was.

After a very enjoyable Literature lesson the twins were given an hour off and went outside to walk one of their favourite trails through the wood. They didn't say that it might be the last time they walked it for a while but both knew that the other one was thinking it.

After a quick lunch the twins made there way to the school only to leave it again when Danini told them that they would be having their history lesson outside. The twins were delighted but they both knew that everyone was being extra nice to them because they had to go to Rivendell to stay will Lord Elrond.

The weeks flew by and Legolas and Adela soon began to dread each coming day. Summer was drawing to an end and the wind from the north was picking up. The departure date drew nearer and a heaviness sat of the hearts of the twins. They didn't want to leave Mirkwood!

All too soon they were helping their mother and Danini pack their bags with their uniforms, work clothes, winter clothes and nightclothes as well as exercise books, text books and reading books. They also packed small bags for themselves into which their identical teddies went as well as some writing pads and ink went.

The night before they set off for Rivendell the twins' were very quiet. They went out into the back gardens of the house and sat and talked. At dinnertime they didn't eat much, they were too nervous and very scared. Going to bed early Danini brought them some chocolate as well as their usual glass of milk and tucked them in tightly. A little while later their mother and father came in to bid them good night and sweet dreams.

"This is the last night we'll sleep in here," Legolas said into the darkness in a very choked voice.

"I know," Adela told him. "But one positive is that we're both going to Rivendell. I don't think I'd be able to stand it if I were going to Rivendell alone or if I was left here and you went alone," Adela told her twin.

"Yeah, I know what you mean," Legolas told his twin. "It would be terrible if we'd been separated."

Without realising it sleep overtook both twins and all too soon the faint sunlight was coming in through their window and Danini was in waking them up. Putting on their riding clothes the twins ate one last breakfast with their family and got hugged very tightly by their mother who fussed over them and told them to take care.

"Don't worry, we will Mama," Legolas told her giving her one last tight hug before heading out to the stables with his father and sister.

Mounting their horses Thranduil and his twins began their journey to Rivendell, all of them silent. Thranduil couldn't help thinking what it would be like on the journey back when he wouldn't have to twins. He hated the thought that he had to leave them in Rivendell. It wasn't fair on them, they were still very young.

"Papa?" Adela's voice broke into his thoughts.

"Yes, Sweetie?"

"We were wondering, will you be able to visit us in Rivendell, before the snow becomes too much?" she asked quietly.

"Of course, darling, I'll make sure I can. And I'll bring along one of your brothers as well," Thranduil told them.

Both twins smiled.

"I'm going to miss you so much, Papa," Legolas told him.

"And I'm going to miss my two little twins but for now why don't we just enjoy the scenery," Thranduil told them.


	4. Arrival

Two days later, not long before sunset the twins and Thranduil reached Imladris, much to the disappointment of all three. They rode up to the last homely house and dismounted, Legolas and Adela staying very close together. Elrond came down to meet them along with Glorfindel and Erestor.

Thranduil dropped to one knee and pulled both Legolas and Adela close, hugging them tightly. The journey home was going to be very quiet without them and he was missing them already, even though they had not yet parted ways. Smoothing both sets of hair Thranduil dropped a kiss on each forehead and stood.

He declined Elrond's offer to stay for supper and with one last hug mounted his horse and rode off. Legolas and Adela watched until he was out of sight before reaching for their bags, both wondering where to put their horses.

Elrond broke the silence. "Welcome to Rivendell, Legolas and Adela."

Both twins offered him a small smile and shared a look. This was going to be difficult.

"Glorfindel, please show our guests to their room, I hope you don't mind sharing? Elladan and Elrohir, twins of my own said you would probably prefer that," Elrond told them.

"We do," Legolas said, stiffly.

Elrond stifled a sigh, these two were going to be difficult. Seeing the Glorfindel had grabbed the last of the twins' bags he motioned for the two Mirkwood elves to follow.

Follow up the staircase and into a large spacious room. Legolas and Adela were slightly surprised the Glorfindel had waved them through into the room before him but had dared not disobey an elder. In Mirkwood children always entered after their elders. They were glad that they had remembered to stay three paces behind and slightly to the right, even though they weren't at home anymore.

Once Glorfindel left them the twins rushed into each other's arms. To do so in front of an elder, or anyone else in this place for that matter, would be to admit weakness. And that was something they were not allowed to do. After a while they broke apart and began to sort out their things. Uniforms where folded neatly and books and writing materials placed on the shelves and desks. Teddies were place on beds on top of neatly folded night clothes.

The twins briefly debated going in search of something to eat but decided that they did not want to wander the halls alone and that they were two tired and very scared. Changing quickly, they put their riding clothes in a neat pile to be washed.

Climbing into bed, Adela turned out the lamp and clutched her teddy tightly, she could see Legolas doing the same. Gazing at the sky through the window that was opposite both beds, conviently placed near each other on the same wall, Adela felt a tear slip.

However, when Erestor looked in on them later to see if they wanted anything to eat, both twins were asleep and he was reminded of how young they actually were. He quickly went and reported to Lord Elrond.

Elrond looked up surprised when Erestor entered his study without his young charges. "Where are Legolas and Adela?" he asked of the other.

"My Lord, they are both asleep. I did not wish to wake them because they have travelled far and are still young," Erestor told him.

Elrond sighed slightly, he had been hoping that the twins would open up after they had had something to eat but for now he must wait to see what the morrow would bring.


	5. A Talk With Arwen

The next morning it took the twins a little while to remember where they were when they awoke. Oh of course, Rivendell. They dressed quickly in their uniforms and then wondered what to do. They did not want to go wandering along the halls of Rivendell by themselves.

They were saved that trouble when a blonde haired elf came for them. "That's Glorfindel, right?" Legolas whispered to Adela.

"Yes, he's the one who showed us our way here last night," Adela confirmed.

Seeing the twins shyness Glorfindel smiled at them both and offered them both a hand. This caused the twins to look at him confused. "Have you never held someone's hand before when you were walking?" Glorfindel asked them, now also confused.

"Only in private when it was just our family," Adela told him.

"Out in public children have to stay three steps behind and slightly to the right of their elders," Legolas told him. "That's the rule."

Glorfindel was shocked. "And I suppose that you're wearing uniforms?" he asked them.

"Of course, father insists that we all do," Adela told the Rivendell elf.

Glorfindel took a deep breath and crouched so that he could be at eye level with the two elves from Mirkwood. "Here in Rivendell you'll be following Lord Elrond's rules, right?"

"Yes," the twins answered together.

"And as one of Lord Elrond's advisors, I'm allowed to make rules, ok?" he asked gently.

"Ok."

"Well, my rule is that when you are walking with me you will both take my hands, one at either side, understand?" Glorfindel couldn't believe he had to make a rule just so that Thranduil's children would hold his hands so that he wouldn't lose them. Not that he actually expected them to walk off on their own now. Earlier on he had but after speaking to the two of them he realised that Thranduil must be stricter with his children than Lord Elrond thought. "Now, are you ready to go?" he asked gently.

"Yes, sir," the twins answered in unison.

"Good, come along then," Glorfindel stood to his full height and once more offered the twins his hands. This time they took them without question and the three left the room.

Walking them to the dining room Glorfindel made sure that they twins were sat together. He did notice, however that the twins didn't seem to eat much but then again maybe they never ate much, they were young after all. After they had finished eating Legolas and Adela didn't have much of a clue as to what to do next. They decided that the best course of action would be to wait for Glorfindel and to hope that the other elf hadn't forgot about them. He hadn't of course.

Whilst they were sat waiting an elf with long dark hair that Elrond's came and sat down opposite them. She introduced herself as Arwen, daughter of Elrond.

"I'm Adela," Adela told her shyly "and this is Legolas my twin brother."

"King Thranduil's children?" Arwen asked.

"Yes," Legolas answered, also shyly.

"Ah, Glorfindel, I see you're in charge of our two friends from Mirkwood," Arwen greeting him.

"Indeed I am," he told her. "Have you seen your father? I need to speak with him urgently," Glorfindel asked.

"He's probably in his study," Arwen told him, "Otherwise I don't know where he is,"

"Do you mind looking after Legolas and Adela for a while, while I go and talk to him?" Glorfindel asked before walking off without waiting for an answer.

By this time the dining room was empty and Arwen stood up. As she did not offer the twins here hands they fell in step three paces behind her and slightly to the right. It only took Arwen a minute to notice this. "What are you doing back there?" she asked, "Come and walk up here, next to me," she told them.

"Father's rule," Adela told her. "Children are to stay three paces behind and slightly to the right at all times."

"Although Glorfindel did give us a new rule this morning," Legolas spoke up. "When we walk with him, we are to take him by the hands."

"Well, that rule counts for me, as well," Arwen told them and offered them both her hands. "And what are you wearing?"

"Our uniforms," Adela told her, as if it was the most obvious thing in all Middle Earth.

"Uniforms?" Arwen asked.

"Yes, Father insists," Legolas told her.

"These ones are our general uniforms and the ones we wear for lessons," Adela also put in helpfully.

"General uniforms?"

"The ones we wear when we're out with our mother and father, if we are not riding that is," Legolas explained. "If we are riding that we would have our riding clothes on."

"Of course," Arwen replied, slightly dazed by all this information. "Do you have play clothes as well?"

"Play clothes?" Adela questioned.

"Clothes which you can wear outside and get dirty without having to worry about it."

"Well, we have work clothes for when we're helping with the horses or walking trails," Legolas offered.

"That's not quite what I meant," Arwen told them stopping at a bench in the gardens. She sat on the bench and motioned for the twins to sit down on either side of her. "I meant clothes that you can wear in your free time."

"We wear our uniforms in our free time," Adela told the now-very-confused Rivendell elf maiden.

"Don't you go outside in your free time?" she questioned.

"Sometimes, but that's usually to hike a trial to work off some pent up energy, so we would be in our work clothes," Adela explained.

"What about getting dirty?" Arwen just had to ask.

"Why would we get dirty?" Legolas asked thoroughly confused.

"When you play outside you normally get dirty, don't you?"

"Play?" both twins questioned together.

Arwen sighed. "Yes play, in your free time."

"Oh no," Legolas said. "Free time is a time to quietly read a book and relax, to hike a trail quietly so as not to disturb any one else and to catch up on or do some extra studying," he told her.

"What?" Arwen gasped, very shocked. "You don't know how to play?"

"We're not allowed to play, father says so, it's a waste of time," Adela informed her.

"Obviously Rivendell and Mirkwood have different ideas as to what's a waste of time," Arwen informed them. "Come, let us head back inside," she instructed them whilst standing and offering them her hands.


	6. Lessons and Rules

On walking back inside Arwen and the twins met Glorfindel who was obviously looking for them. Legolas and Adela shared a worried look, where they in trouble on their first day? Glorfindel offered his hands to the twins without a word. Legolas looked at Arwen before taking Glorfindel's hand silently. Adela followed her brother's example.

Glorfindel took them to a room that they hadn't been in yet. It was quite a glum room with five rows of wooden desks, a blackboard, a bookcase full of thick, hard-looking text books and two windows which were too high up for the twins to see out of and they only let in a little light. Glorfindel left them alone and Legolas and Adela looked around nervously. Just then another elf entered and sat behind the desk at the front of the room. Motioning them to him the twins went and stood in front of the desk. "Now then, as you might have guessed, I am your tutor," the elf told them. "I am Erestor and you will study with me for three hours everyday apart from Saturday and Sunday, understand?"

"Yes Sir."

"Ok then. I'm going to guess that you have the same favourite subject?"

"Yes Sir!" the twins were warming up to him and Erestor was suddenly glad that he got to be their tutor, they seemed like bright kids.

"And this subject would be?" he prompted.

"History Sir."

"And the worst would be?" he asked with a smile.

"Numeracy," came the groan.

"Well, I hate to tell you this but we will be spending more time working on Numeracy than History, I'm afraid."

"Nothing new there then," Legolas told him, surprising all three of them. The twins had been very quiet up until this point, having been taught not to speak out of turn. Legolas instantly looked at the floor and flushed, ashamed.

"Hey, now," Erestor said quietly, slightly shocked at Legolas' reaction to speaking. "You've done nothing wrong, I was going to ask how you were schooled in Mirkwood anyway."

"We're not supposed to speak out of turn, Sir," Legolas whispered, his eyes filling with tears which were evident in his choked voice.

Adela went to offer her hand to her twin but stopped. To do so would be to show weakness.

"You can hold hands, you know," they were both told gently by Erestor, who was now very shocked.

"No we can't," Adela told him. "Not in public, that's the rule. It shows weakness which is something we are not allowed to show."

Erestor stood up and came and knelt between the twins, taking one of their hands in each of his own. "Any other rules I should know of, just the main ones?" he asked.

Legolas finally looked up. "When walking children are to remain three paces behind their elders and slightly to the right. Although Glorfindel and Arwen said that the rule with them is that we have to hold their hands."

"That rule counts for me as well," Erestor told them. "Anything else?"

"Children are to be seen not heard," Adela told him.

"And are only to speak when asked a direct question. Children must never speak out of turn," Legolas added.

"Studying comes before free time and children must not disturb their elders during free time but read a book quietly, walk a trail and practice weaponry with an elder," Adela put in.

"Bedtime is to be strictly obeyed," Legolas added.

Erestor now looked completely overwhelmed. Children should be seen not heard, and not talk out of place? What kind of game was Thranduil playing at? "Any other rules about studying?" he asked quietly.

"Children must study for at least five hours a day and everyone had a study hour before dinner in which to do any extra assignments, finish off work or catch up," the twins recited together. That at least explained to Erestor why they had looked shocked when he had told them that they would be studying for three hours a day.

"And the main subjects to be studied are Numeracy and Literature. At least an hour of each a day," Adela tagged on to the end after a moments pause.

"Very well then," Erestor told them sounding slightly dazed. "Whilst you are in Rivendell you will only study under me for three hours a day, but you will have a study hour with someone to supervise you before dinner," Erestor decided.

"Yes Sir," came the obedient response.

"For now then, though, we are going to take a Geography lesson outside, for I am sure that you have not seen much of Rivendell yet," he told them and stood and headed to the door.

The twins followed him and hesitantly went and stood on either side of him, as he had not offered them his hands. Erestor smiled slightly and slid his hands into the twins' and led them outside. Elves looking up from their work smiled at the sight. An elder elf, advisor to Lord Elrond, walking along teaching two young ones, both dressed very smartly, about Rivendell and holding their hands as they gazed up at him in wonder. All in all it was a very enjoyable morning for all three, Erestor, Legolas and Adela. Once the Geography lesson was over Erestor lead the twins back in side. He took them back to the schoolroom and gave them both a blank exercise book and told them to put their names on the front along with 'geography'. The twins done as instructed. He then set them an essay title, 'our walk through Rivendell' which both twins got on with straight away. Erestor stopped them after half an hour and told them that they could finish it in their study hour as they would have the afternoon off. For now though it was time for lunch.

Erestor took the twins to the dining hall and made sure that they were sat near him, not too far away from Lord Elrond, who he knew that the twins hadn't really meet yet. Not long after they had sat down Arwen came in and sat near the twins. After meeting them this morning she had decided that she liked them. She had also decided that she was going to get them some play clothes made.

"Hi Legolas, Adela," she greeting them nicely.

"Hello Arwen," came the polite chorus back.

"What are you two going to be up to this afternoon?" she asked.

"Not sure," Adela told her. "Erestor said that we have the afternoon off until out study hour at five o'clock."

"In that case, would you like to come and help me out with something?" the elf maiden asked the two of them.

"Yes please," Legolas answered for the both of them.

"Very well, that is settled," Arwen told them.


	7. Getting To Know One Another

"Are you ready to go?" Arwen asked the twins once she had finished eating. She was answered with two shy nods. "Come along then," she told them. Legolas and Adela held her hands without question, they were starting to get used to this new rule and they liked Arwen.

Arwen took the twins to the tailors not too far away from the last homely house so that they could be fitted for play clothes. This shocked the twins but they knew better than to question any decision made by an elder. The tailor told Arwen that the clothes would be delivered to the house in two days time.

Arwen smiled and thanked the elf and left with the twins. She took them to a field near the river and sat down on the ground. "What did you study with Erestor earlier?" she asked them.

"Geography," Adela answered her.

"He showed us some of Rivendell, which was our lesson," Legolas answered.

"I bet that was a good lesson," Arwen commented.

"It was but it was also very different from our lessons back in Mirkwood. Things are very different here," Adela told her.

Arwen wrapped her arm around the young elf's shoulders and pulled her close. "I've never been to Mirkwood, so I wouldn't know," she told the two of them. "What is Mirkwood like?"

"To us it seems more organised, but that's probably because we don't know much about the lifestyle here in Rivendell," Legolas started.

"There are set times for studying and free time and family time. There are set times for chores and rotators for whose doing what and so forth," Adela took over.

"You had to do chores in Mirkwood?" Arwen asked.

"Yes, everyone helps out, so the jobs are done quicker so more important things can be done," Legolas answered, sounding like rote again.

Adela sighed, "All the rules seem to be different here. It's difficult to get used to."

"I'll bet. You also seem to have more rules there than we do here," Arwen told them.

"Seems like it," Legolas told her. "It's just going to take us a while to adapt but we're going to have to because we don't know how long we're going to be here for."

"Aren't you happy here?" Arwen asked, concerned that they were upset.

"It's just trying to get used to everything. This is the first time we've been separated from all of our family and we miss them. We don't really know anyone here," Adela ended in a whisper and Arwen wrapped the young girl in a hug and then pulled Legolas into it as well and both twins began to giggle slightly. This in turn set Arwen off, who was happy that the twins were finally smiling.

Arwen stood and pulled the twins to their feet as well and the three ran down towards the river where Arwen pointed out the different types of plants that grew in the water. "We can put them into our Geography report that we're doing for Erestor this afternoon," Legolas commented.

Arwen smiled and led them to a remote bridge where they sat with their legs dangling over the side. "Do you like to read?" Arwen asked them.

"Yes," both twins answered together.

"There is a massive library at Mirkwood which we are allowed to visit with an elder," Adela told her. "Sometimes we'd have Literature lessons their with one of our older brothers."

"And Mother and Father made sure that we had a good selection of children's books to choose from," Legolas added. "We brought some of our favourites with us."

"I'll have to show you the library here in Rivendell, I'm sure you'll like it," Arwen told them.

"Yeah, we're always reading but Father approves so there's nothing wrong with it," Legolas said.

"You call him Father and not Ada?" Arwen questioned.

"In public we call him Father but in private he's Papa," Adela told her with a smile.

"Papa? That's sweet," Arwen said, smiling back at the young elf.

"That's what our older brothers say, but Papa just tells us to ignore them and says that he likes the name," Legolas grinned across at Arwen, who was glad that the twins were starting to come out of their shells around her.

In the silence that stretched around them Legolas and Adela enjoyed the sound of the gently rushing water, which passed by beneath their feet. They had rivers in Mirkwood but none such as this and they liked the way the sunlight sparkled on the water.

About half an hour later Arwen stood. "We'd better get back inside."

Legolas and Adela stood and brushed down their uniforms before taking Arwen's hands. Once back at the Last Homely House the twins went to their room, they knew the way now. They re-done their hair and made sure that they looked smart before heading down to the school room, even though they had a bit of time before their study hour began. They had both brought their History textbook and exercise book with them in case they finished their Geography and needed something to do.

"How's your Geography coming along?" Adela asked her twin once they were sat down at their desks.

"Fine, I'm going to add some diagrams of flowers and label them and things like that as well, what about you?" Legolas answered and asked.

"Yeah, same here and I'm going to do descriptions of places we've seen," Adela told her brother.

At that moment Glorfindel entered the room and told them that he would be supervising them, as Erestor was busy. Once their study hour was over and the twins had done eight pages each on their Geography work, complete with neatly labelled and coloured diagrams they went back to their own room to smarten up before the evening meal.

They made sure that their collars were straight and changed into their white shoes with the buckles on and made sure that their socks were pulled up. Glorfindel led them to the dining room whilst holding their hands and they were seated near Arwen again, much to their relief.

They saw Lord Elrond sitting not too far away along with two elves that they guessed were Elladan and Elrohir, Lord Elrond's twins and Arwen's older brothers.

"Are they Elladan and Elrohir?" Adela asked Arwen while gesturing to them.

"Yes they are my older brothers, and I take it you know which one my Ada is?" she questioned. Both Legolas and Adela nodded.

Legolas then got a little grin on his face. "You call him Ada?" he asked as innocently as he could.

Arwen laughed, "Well you call Thranduil Papa," she defended herself.

"Yeah, well…" both twins blushed and then the three laughed together.

"I think it's sweet," Arwen told them and the beginnings of a true friendship had begun.


	8. A Bad Ending To The Day

Later on Legolas and Adela were in their room, their first day in Rivendell almost over, and they still hadn't seen Lord Elrond yet! They had both done some Numeracy studying and had now settled down on their beds with their favourite books. For Legolas this was 'Castaways of the Flying Dutchman' and for Adela it was 'Heidi'. They heard voices outside their down and looked at each other in confusion, who could it be?

The door opened to reveal Elladan and Elrohir, Lord Elrond's twins. "Well what do we have here?" one asked. "The little twins from Mirkwood acting all innocent and sweet and reading before bedtime?" the sarcastic tone cut through both Legolas and Adela, who shared a look. Legolas was sat cross-legged and leaning on the headboard whilst Adela was laying on her stomach with her feet resting on her pillow. Both stood up together and stood between their beds, holding hands with their books in their other hands.

"I'll hazard the guess of Elladan and Elrohir, should I?" Adela asked.

"Yes," one replied "and you must be Adela and your twin brother is Legolas."

Legolas and Adela shared another look, trying to work out what the tone of voice meant.

"So," the other one said "you're our honoured guests from Mirkwood."

"We're from Mirkwood, yes," Legolas told them, "honoured, I don't think so."

Elladan and Elrohir cracked smiles. "You're a sharp one," Legolas was told.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Legolas asked, not at all liking the sound of the idea.

"So innocent," one twin commented to the other as if the two they were talking about weren't even in the same room with them.

"Indeed," both Elladan and Elrohir now had wicked grins on their faces.

"I don't like the look of this, I don't like the look of this at all," Legolas whispered to his twin, who agreed with a nod.

"And what would you two be whispering about?" one asked with an air of authority.

"Nothing that involves you!" Legolas shot at them. Adela was happy to let her twin do the talking for the both of them, she really didn't like these two. She could hardly believe that they were Arwen's older brothers. Arwen who was kind and nice to them, who had took them for a walk through Rivendell and had gotten to know them and had even got them measured for play clothes for some reason. Arwen who tried to make them feel welcome and who had given them hugs and made them laugh with her. Arwen who had called them sweet and seemed to genuinely like them for who they were, not just because she had to because they would be living with her for a while.

"Definitely a sharp one," Legolas was told again and both twins smiled at him. Legolas, however, could not work out if those smiles were friendly or laced with evil. He decided simply to ignore them.

"And what of the little elf maiden, has she got anything to say for herself?" Adela was asked in a sickly-sweet tone, which held not kindness at all.

"You leave my twin alone!" Legolas defended his sister.

"Why don't you just leave the two of us alone if you haven't got anything nice to say to us!" Adela shot at the two, annoyed that they could just come into their room and treat them like this.

"Oh, getting upset are we?" asked a voice which held sarcastic kindness, "well, here's something to upset you; we don't want you here."

"The feelings mutual, trust me," Legolas told them.

"Oh really?" came the sarcastic question back.

"Yes! We don't want to be here anymore than you want us to be here!" Adela huffed.

"What? You don't want to be here?" the Rivendell twins pretended to be shocked.

"Yes, we don't want to be here!" Legolas and Adela told them together, just as Lord Elrond walked through the door.

Legolas and Adela looked at each other and gulped simultaneously. This wasn't going to be good, they could tell by the way Elladan and Elrohir were smirking.

"Well, I'm sorry you feel that way," Lord Elrond told them both and Legolas and Adela shared another look. They were still holding hands and Legolas gave a reassuring squeeze to Adela and he knew that she would probably let him do the talking. Despite the fact that he felt shaky inside, Legolas lifted his chin confidently and met Elrond's gaze square on, despite the fact it was against Mirkwood rules. He didn't think that his Papa would mind if he stuck up for both himself and Adela.

"They seem pretty ungrateful, if you ask me," one of the Rivendell twins whispered to the other but everyone still heard him.

"Now, now, Elladan," Glorfindel scolded gently from the doorway where he had just entered. Elrond, however, now looked very thoughtful.

Seeing this Adela and Legolas shared yet another look and dropped their gaze's to the floor, heads bowed. They still held hands and clutched their books tightly, they just wanted everyone to leave them alone so that they could talk, and possibly cry, quietly together. What they wouldn't have done to be back in Mirkwood at that moment!

Glorfindel noticed the changes come over Legolas and Adela and knew that this confrontation was not going to help them. He didn't know Thranduil's other rules, but if they were anything like the walking three paces behind and slightly to the right one, then he didn't want to know. Legolas and Adela weren't children, they didn't know how to do the things normal children done and Erestor had told him that they took much care with their school work and he had seen it for himself during the study hour where they hadn't said a word, not to him or one another. He didn't even want to know how they would react if Elrond decided to scold them, especially in front of Elladan and Elrohir. He couldn't remember the two of them taking as much care with schoolwork as Legolas and Adela did when they were their age.

Elrond, however, decided that he would deal with his young Mirkwood charges in the morning. "Maybe you two should think about the way things stand," he commented lightly before he left the room with Elladan and Elrohir following closely behind, looking like butter couldn't melt in their mouths. Glorfindel hesitated for a moment or two and then quietly said a "Goodnight," to the twins.

Before he shut the door he heard a whisper of "Goodnight Glorfindel."

Once they were finally alone again Legolas and Adela flopped down on their respective beds. "This is bad," Legolas commented aloud.

"I know," Adela told him. She sat up, "And we've been forgetting the rules, we shouldn't have been holding hands, but I was too scared not to really, I don't know anyone here and I really don't like Elladan and Elrohir. I had hoped that we'd be able to get along because they're twins as well."

"So did I, Della," Legolas tried to comfort his twin by using the nickname he had given her.

"They're nothing like Arwen, I can hardly believe that they're related, Arwen's so nice to us Lee," Adela also used her twins nickname in an attempt to make them both feel better.

"That was a horrible ending to an ok day, for our first one in Rivendell," Legolas summed up whilst taking his nightclothes out from under his pillow. Adela followed suit.

Whilst they were getting changed Adela stated logically, "It makes sense that we'd get blamed, even though Elladan and Elrohir started it. After all, Lord Elrond and Papa don't get along, so who is he going to trust more, them or us?"

"It still doesn't change the fact that they actually started it though. Fancy telling us that they didn't want us here! Just imagine what Papa would do to us if we said that to them if our roles had been reversed?" Legolas commented.

"I don't think we'd leave our room for months," Adela said with a giggle. "Come on Lee, you've got to see the funny side, we wouldn't dare do anything like that to them, but imagine them trying to live under Papa's rules? They don't seem to have any around here."

By this time both twins were giggling. "Since they have no rules around here, we shall have to stick to the ones used in Mirkwood. We can not go astray," Legolas commented seriously.

"And speaking of rules, its bedtime," Adela told her twin.

They both climbed into bed, turned off their lamps and held hands over the gap between their beds. "I don't think I want the morning to come," Legolas whispered.

"Neither do I, but we can't stop it, so we'll just have to face what ever comes our way," Adela told him bravely.

"I know, but I still wish that Mama and Papa where here to tuck us into bed and kiss us goodnight, I miss them so much and we've only been here a day, but I suppose it will get easier with time," Legolas tried his hardest not to let his voice shake.

"At least we have Arwen for a friend and Glorfindel bade us goodnight, so it could be worse," Adela tried to look on the bright side but her voice was quavering, showing that tears where near and for the second time in two nights, Legolas and Adela cried themselves to sleep, knowing that they couldn't go home.


	9. Sorting Out With Elrond

The next morning dawned fair over Rivendell but for two young elves it done nothing to ease the pains in their hearts. They were up at first sunlight and dressed in their uniforms, hair braided back from the sides with the braids fastened together at the back of their heads. Once they heard people start to move they made their way to the dining room by themselves, now knowing the way. They ate a little bit of bread and fruit quickly and then made their way to the school room quickly. The moment Erestor entered the school room where Legolas and Adela sat waiting for him, he knew that they were worse off for the encounter with Elrond, Elladan and Elrohir last night which Glorfindel had told him about.

Erestor had made some adjustments to the school room last night, after the study hour and they now had a carpet area with bookshelves surrounding three sides of it in one corner of the room with a rocking chair for him to sit on and the whole room was a lot more light and airy.

Seeing the downcast faces of the two young elves that he had managed yesterday to open up to him, Erestor stifled a sigh. He walked over to the carpet area and sat down in the rocking chair. Neither Adela nor Legolas made any move to go over to him so he called them over. Still neither twin spoke and word and their gazes were focussed on the floor. Erestor took one of their hands in each of his own and pulled them close. Seeing that Adela seemed close to tears he pulled them both on to his lap with ease. "Now then, why don't you tell me what's wrong? Where are the bright youngsters who I enjoyed teaching about Imladris yesterday?" he asked gently.

"Elladan and Elrohir came into our room last night," Adela started shyly and looked to her twin to help. Despite being the younger twin Legolas was ok with doing most of the talking for the two of them, although Adela usually done most of the talking when it was someone who was nice to them but it was clear to Legolas that his sister did not what to talk about this.

"They started to tease us, pick on us," Legolas took over and by the sound of his voice Erestor was reminded of how young they really were. "Then when we asked them to leave us alone they told us that we weren't welcome here, that they didn't want us here." Legolas took a deep breath, trying to get his raging emotions under control. "Then we told them that we didn't want to be here and Lord Elrond heard us. Than, I think it was Elladan who said we were ungrateful and Lord Elrond agreed with him and told us to think about the way things stand when it wasn't even our fault! Elladan and Elrohir provoked us!" Legolas finished with his voice quivering slightly but he was glad that both he and Adela had gotten that off their chests.

"Is it true?" Adela asked Erestor. "Aren't we welcome here?"

"Of course you are welcome here," Erestor reassured the two of them. "You will always be welcome here." Legolas and Adela looked happier now that this statement had come from an elder's mouth.

Unnoticed by the three of them another elf stood in the doorway. Erestor was looking down at the twins and the twins were looking up at Erestor and everything was calm when the other elf crossed the room and knelt down in front of the rocking chair. He took Legolas and Adela's hands in his own. "Elladan and Elrohir said what?!" he asked the twins gently.

Both twins managed to stop gasps of surprise. "Lord Elrond!" Adela stuttered out.

Elrond gave both twins a little smile and repeated his question, "What did they say to you?"

"I think that there exact words were that they didn't want us here," Adela told the Lord of Rivendell quietly.

Elrond looked shocked but he managed to keep his anger in check. "How would you two like the morning off and come with me while I go and meet Arwen in the library?" he asked the two, trying to make up for his harsh behaviour towards them last night.

Legolas and Adela had instantly perked up as soon as he mentioned the library. "You like reading then?" Elrond asked with a small chuckle.

"Yes Sir," came the polite chorus back. Legolas and Adela slid off Erestor's lap and went and stood near Elrond. Elrond smiled down at them and playfully pulled the end of their braids that caused them both to giggle slightly. Despite what had happened last night, they had now both decided that the Lord of Rivendell seemed to be a nice elf.

Erestor smiled at Elrond and told the twins that he would supervise them for their study hour before the evening meal that night, before leaving them alone with Lord Elrond who sat down in the rocking chair and pulled both the young Mirkwood elves close, so that they were leaning against him, though they were still standing.

"So, what did you study yesterday?" Elrond asked, hoping to draw the two out of their shells more.

"Geography," came the whisper back, the twins weren't as confident now that Erestor wasn't in the room.

Elrond smiled down at them again and stood up, deciding that the twins would probably be more open with him around Arwen, who had stood up for them against her brothers last night.

Legolas and Adela looked at each other, slightly confused. "Which rule do we use?" Legolas asked his twin in a whisper.

"Not sure," Adela whispered back and then they both realised that Lord Elrond was looking at them, slightly puzzled.

The elder elf bent down on one knee and looked them both straight in the eyes. "What rules do I need to know about?" he asked kindly.

"The only rule we've been given in Rivendell is that we have to hold an elders hand when walking with them and not follow Father's rule about walking," Legolas told him quietly, looking at the floor for some reason.

"And what would your father's rule be?" Elrond asked, curiously whilst raising Legolas's chin. Legolas knew better than to look down again and kept his gaze steady.

"When walking with an elder children are to stay three paces behind and slightly to the right," came the recited and memorised answer back.

Elrond looked taken back. "Okay then, the rule with me is that you have to hold my hands, ok?"

"Yes, Sir," was the immediate and automatic reply.

Elrond couldn't help smiling when the twins took his hands without question when they had left the schoolroom. He also couldn't help wondering what other rules Thranduil had even though he wasn't actually sure that he wanted to know, if they were anything like the first one he'd heard.

Once at the library the twins were soon absorbed in a History textbook and Elrond whispered to his daughter, "Three paces behind and slightly to the right?"

"Yeah, I know," Arwen whispered back. "They're really sweet once you get to know them. It's a shame they got into an argument with Elladan and Elrohir last night."

"That was Elladan and Elrohir's fault and I will be talking to them about it later," At this Legolas and Adela's heads raised and both Elrond and Arwen sent them a reassuring smile.

"Yeah, well, just imagine what it would be like if I raised the three of you like Legolas and Adela have been raised," Elrond told his daughter and the four stifled laughter.

Legolas and Adela shared a look, they knew how lax things were around here, so different from home and they still missed Mirkwood a lot, but things were getting better. "Elladan and Elrohir wouldn't survive a week in Mirkwood!" they giggled together and were rewarded by Elrond sweeping Adela on to his lap and Arwen hugging Legolas.

Maybe Rivendell wasn't as bad as they first thought it was both twins thought.


	10. Sneaking Out

It wasn't until lunchtime that Elrond, Legolas, Adela and Arwen left the library. "What are you going to do this afternoon?" Arwen asked the twins kindly, whom both had one of Elrond's hands clutched tightly in theirs.

"Not sure," Legolas answered. "Either read or study. Probably study because we need to."

"Why don't you take a day off?" Elrond suggested.

"But children are supposed to study for five hours a day, five days out of seven a week, devoting at least an hour to Literature and Numeracy each day," Legolas and Adela recited together.

Arwen raised her eyebrows to her father, her face saying quite clearly, 'what the… ?!'

Elrond half shrugged in response. The twins noticed this and looked up at him but didn't push when he offered no explanation for his action. Elrond simply smiled at them again and lead them back into the house and into the dining room. Both Erestor and Glorfindel smiled when they saw the young Mirkwood twins holding hands with the Lord of Rivendell. Maybe things would be ok after all. The had expected a big disruption to their lives when Elrond had come back from Lorien announcing that they were going to have to play host to King Thranduil's youngest two children, but Legolas and Adela had been somewhat of a surprise to them. So well behaved and smartly dressed, it almost made them wish that Elladan and Elrohir had been raised like that, until they thought of all the fun that they had had playing with the two young masters of Rivendell. Legolas and Adela didn't even know how to play, that was something that they needed to be taught.

Elrond sat down in the vacant seat next to Erestor and motioned for the twins to sit down next to him. Arwen sat opposite them and soon had Legolas and Adela wrapped up in a conversation with her about books.

"So, what do you think of your young charges from Mirkwood?" Erestor asked. "After all, you probably didn't get the best impression you could from last night."

"I didn't last night but I did when I found them both sitting on your lap in the schoolroom this morning, Erestor," Elrond gently teased, causing both Erestor and Glorfindel to smile and chuckle lightly. "As to my opinion on them, I just want to know how Thranduil has raised them! Coming here is probably the best thing that could happen to the two of them, though they probably don't see it that way."

"I think they're homesick," Glorfindel told the others. "We need to make them feel as welcome as possible. But really, we can't change them to much, because once they go back to Mirkwood, they will still have to follow Thranduil's rules."

"I know, and that is our one big problem," Elrond said with a sigh and glanced down next to him where the twins where still talking animatedly with Arwen. He noticed that they hadn't eat that much, but then, it was probably enough for them, he remembered that neither Arwen, Elladan nor Elrohir ate that much when they were Legolas and Adela's age.

Just then Elladan and Elrohir entered the room. Legolas and Adela stopped talking to Arwen immediately when her brothers came and sat next to her and held hands under the table. Arwen noticed the change immediately and stood up, offering both Legolas and Adela her hands when she got round to their side of the table. The two young Mirkwood twins stood up and took the hands offered. The three then left the dining room and Arwen walked them to their quarters. Once their she told them to choose their favourite book. This turned out to be the 'Relic Master' by Catherine Fisher. Once Arwen had seen the book, she confessed that she had never heard of it. Both twins began singing it's praise and Arwen once again handed the book to Legolas and lead both twins out to the field by the river again, where she read the whole book to them. She could see why they liked it. They then told her that there were another three books to follow it and that she could borrow them, if she liked. Arwen agreed that she was definitely going to read the other three books to find out more about Galen and Raffi's adventures. Mind you, by this time the twins had told her most of the plot, but they were being mysterious about how it ended, even though they said that Raffi did become a Relic Master.

It was later on when the twins found themselves alone in the schoolroom when Elladan and Elrohir came in. Legolas and Adela both stood immediately and held hands.

"Erm… " one started awkwardly. "we just wanted to say that we're sorry for what happened last." Elladan and Elrohir, who had done the apologising, gave the younger set of twins a smile before hastily fleeing the room.

The rumour all around Rivendell that night was that Elrond had gone off it at his two sons and had yelled himself hoarse and also that the twins were under punishment. This reached the Mirkwood twins ears and that night, they done something that they had never ever done before, they snuck out of their beds and down to where they knew Elladan and Elrohir's room was. Knocking quietly, they opened the door and entered quickly, in case anyone saw them and gave Elladan and Elrohir the shocks of their lives.

"I thought Ada said that you two didn't break rules," Elladan teased.

"Yeah, well, this is the first time EVER that we have done something like this," Adela stressed the word ever.

"Yeah and we only done it because of the rumours flying around. Are you two ok?" Legolas asked.

"Apart from the fact that Ada is really mad at us, we're fine," Elrohir told them.

"At least you have your Ada here, our Papa is all the way back in Mirkwood and that seems like such along way from here," as soon as she said this Adela was wrapped in a hug and ended up sprawled on one of the twins beds on top of Elladan. Elrohir and Legolas joined the two of them and they lay whispering until Legolas and Adela said their goodnights and crept back into their room.

Once they were safely tucked up in their beds again Legolas exclaimed, "I can't believe that we just done that! What were we thinking?! Sneaking out? If Papa found out, we would be in so much trouble!"

"I know," Adela murmured sleepily, she knew her twin wasn't that upset, just shocked at his own actions.

Both twins fell into a deep sleep, this time with no traces of tears on their faces. Both made plans in their minds to see Elladan and Elrohir the next morn. Two rooms down, Elladan and Elrohir were also in bed, feeling slightly guilty, but now also slightly better because they had spoken with Legolas and Adela.

And peace came over Rivendell as its occupants fell asleep with light hearts and the tiny pinprick stars which shone down from the deep velvety midnight blue sky did not have to offer any comfort to anyone, for everyone was, for once, sleeping peacefully.


	11. Memories of Home

**Dawn broke swiftly over Rivendell and Legolas and Adela rose sleepily. After washing they dressed in their uniforms, made sure that their white cloth shoes were clean and braided their hair neatly. They then left their room and walked to the dining room whilst holding hands, forgetting completely about their Father's rule never to hold hands in public. And they had snuck out of their room last night; Rivendell was already having an effect on them. Seeing Elladan and Elrohir sat by themselves at one side of the hall, Legolas and Adela quickly joined them, without anyone else in the room noticing them. Sharing smiles and warm greetings, all four then turned to their food, Legolas and Adela not eating much though. Sipping at orange juice the four settled back and watched everyone else coming into the dining room, since they had arrived early. "So, what are you two up to today?" Elrohir asked the younger set of twins.**

"**We're studying with Erestor all this morning and have a study hour before evening meal but in between we don't know," Legolas told them.**

"**What about you?" Adela then asked.**

"**Whatever Ada decides we are fit for," Elladan told them gloomily.**

"**Oh, too bad," Adela told them sympathetically.**

**Legolas took another sip of his orange juice before giving the twins a small smile. "Maybe it won't be as bad as you think," he told them.**

"**And how old are you again?!" Elladan teased him.**

"**Seven human years, but I'm sharp, remember?" Legolas teased straight back, forgetting all the rules that his Father had ever taught him.**

"**Oh yeah…" Elrohir smirked and the four giggled quietly together.**

**The happiness faded from all four once breakfast was over and they split up and went separate ways, Legolas and Adela to the schoolroom and Elladan and Elrohir to their Father's study. Sitting at their desks waiting for Erestor Legolas and Adela were talking quietly and didn't hear when Erestor entered the room. He cleared his throat and both of the twins jumped slightly, turning so that they were facing the front of the schoolroom.**

**Erestor had decided that they would be studying Numeracy this morning and soon both Adela and Legolas had their heads bent over workbooks, completing a test to show Erestor how far they were on with their studies. It didn't seem to matter to him that they had brought their test results with them and reports from their tutors back in Mirkwood. They had even brought some of their old test papers with them but Erestor had said that he still wanted them to do the test so 'that he could identify any weaknesses'.**

**Finishing their tests at roughly the same time, Legolas and Adela stood up together and laid them both on Erestor's desk in a neat pile. The then went back to their seats and sat down with their eyes straight ahead and their hands folded in front of them, it seemed that they hadn't forgotten all the Mirkwood rules.**

**Erestor smiled slightly when he saw how Legolas and Adela could act so perfectly in accordance to Thranduil's rules, but it still unnerved him a bit. Elves of Legolas and Adela's age where not supposed to sit silently for hours on end with out moving, they were supposed to run, skip, play and be outside without worrying about things which were above them. And they certainly weren't supposed to follow every rule to the exact letter.**

**Deciding to mark the exam papers now, Erestor gave them some assigned reading to do, then a comprehension exercise to follow it so that they had studied some Literature for the day, not realising that he was basically following Mirkwood studying rules as well. After finishing their comprehension exercise Erestor set them another one, a longer, harder one, which they were to do in their study hour and complete for the next day in their free time if they didn't get it finished.**

**After being dismissed Legolas and Adela went quickly back to their rooms and changed into their work clothes, blue overalls, which fell to just past her knees and a white long sleeved top for Adela and longish brown shorts and a blue top and braces for Legolas. After getting changed the twins made their way outside. They really wanted to see Elladan and Elrohir again, to see if they were ok. They also wanted to see Arwen, since they hadn't seen her yet today, but they suspected that all three were busy, so they would just have to amuse themselves.**

**Going down near the river again they started up a game of 'tag' which was one of the ways they ran of pent up energy at him because it helped with weaponry training and it didn't make to much noise, they weren't allowed to laugh whilst warming up, which was what the game was used for. However, they both decided that although they were probably allowed to make as much noise as they liked whilst outside in Rivendell, they weren't sure though, it was much more fun playing in Mirkwood because there were more children to play with. It wasn't much fun with only two and it made Legolas and Adela long for their older brothers who would often come up behind them and scoop them off their feet, often causing them to shriek with laughter. And this memory brought back summer evenings spent as a family, when everyone joined in, even their parents and Danini, one of the times when they were allowed to make as much noise as they liked and laugh and joke about. They were allowed to do all those things in private, but never in the public in front of tutors or anything like that. They had to follow the rules then and act as the perfect little elves, the youngest son and daughter of the King.**

**Getting bored of the game because it really needed more players, Legolas and Adela sat down on the grass and talked. Life in Rivendell was getting better, but it wasn't the same as in Mirkwood. They knew that leaves would be falling from the tress in Mirkwood now and that there would be huge piles of dead red, yellow, brown and orange leaves everywhere, ready to be burnt.**

**They talked about the massive leaf fight that they had had with their brothers only last year, in one of the rare, carefree family moments and they remembered their father joining in. They remembered jumping in piles of leaves and then very late one night when the weather had turned even colder because it was several months later and they could see their breath in front of them, all the leaves were burnt in massive bonfires all throughout Mirkwood. The sky looked red every direction you looked. Stood there in hats and mittens in the back gardens of the house they had helped their brothers pile up the leaves and then watched as their Father set fire to it. It was a long standing tradition in Mirkwood. They had even roasted chestnuts on the fire and their Mother had brought some salt out for them to roll the nuts in before eating them. They could remember these nights in the fall for as long as they could remember and it was one of their favourite traditions in Mirkwood. They got to spend time with their family and stay up late. Since it was tradition, all children in Mirkwood did not have to go to school until the afternoon the next day.**

**Legolas and Adela knew that the leaf burning was still a while away but seeing the leaves fall from the trees around them instantly reminded them of this. They wished they could go back to Mirkwood for the leaf burning but they knew that the snow would come soon after, if it hadn't already, and it would be impossible to get back through to Imladris. They remembered the year before last when they had piled up the leaves on a mountain of snow and had had a snowball fight whilst the leaves were burning, before coming and warming up by the fire.**

**Realising that they had been outside for quite a while now, the twins hastened back to the Last Homely House. They quickly changed into their uniforms and checked that they were presentable. Thinking of the leaf burning and home made all of their Father's rules come back into mind and they couldn't believe how they had been behaving. If things were lax in Rivendell, then they would have to make sure that they followed their Father's rules and didn't go astray.**

**With these words to each other they headed for the schoolroom and found that they had arrived before who ever was going to be supervising them. This did not matter to Legolas and Adela who sat down and instantly began work on the comprehension exercise, just like their Father and tutors back in Mirkwood would of expected them to.**

**Both Legolas and Adela had realised that although they had began to accept life in Rivendell, they would never fit in perfectly because they missed Mirkwood and where still influenced by the things they were taught there. Mirkwood would always be their home.**


	12. Even More Rules

After their study hour Legolas and Adela went to the dining room with Lord Elrond, who was supervising them. They were still thinking of the Mirkwood rules and did not speak during dinner unless they were asked a direct question. And then they only answered quietly and politely. They didn't really know what they could do from after supper until bedtime, so they just went back to their room. Before they left Mirkwood they had promised their family that they would write a letter to them at least once a week, which they could give them once they returned. They decided to write the first of the letters now. Adela was going to write to their father and Legolas to their mother.

A little while later the letters where finished, the ink was dry, they were put in envelopes and sealed with the recipients name wrote on the front and then put in the box that they had brought along especially for letters. They would give the box to their family when they returned home to Mirkwood.

Now that they had finished their letters they didn't know what to do now. Legolas flopped down on his bed and stared at the ceiling. "We would never of had this problem in Mirkwood," he spoke aloud.

"I know," Adela told him. "We'd be out walking a trail, or practicing weaponry, or playing tag quietly with some of the others. Or we might have been out with Mama and Papa or riding with Danini. We wouldn't have been stuck in our room anyway. Papa believes in everyone getting fresh air."

"Yeah, I wonder what we can do around here in the evenings?" Legolas asked his twin.

"Haven't a clue," Adela told him. "Do you want to go and have a look around outside? We can be back before curfew."

"Yeah, let's go." Legolas and Adela grabbed their dark blue jackets and left the room.

They walked hand in hand down the staircase and peeked round the front door. Plenty of people still seemed to be moving about so they saw no reason as to why they shouldn't be out as well. They decided that they would just stay in the main courtyard and wandered round, just looking. After a while they sat down on a bench and began to talk again.

"I wonder if we have a different curfew here?" Legolas asked.

"I wonder if we're even allowed out on our own here! We'll be in big trouble if we're not," Adela told her twin.

"Well, no one said we couldn't," Legolas pointed out.

"Yeah, I know," Adela, told him. "But maybe we should go back inside anyway, Lee. It's not like there's anything to do out here, anyway."

"Yeah, I know Della. Maybe it will be best if we go back inside. We could go and see if Elladan and Elrohir are in their room," Legolas suggested.

The twins made their way back inside and up the stairs. "I wonder which room is Arwen's?" Della asked.

"Not sure," Lee replied. "It'll probably be best if we just go back to our room."

"Yeah," Della agreed.

Since they were busy talking they didn't hear anyone coming up behind them until it was too late. Elladan and Elrohir grabbed them around their waists and picked them up, much like their older brothers would have done if they were having a family night together.

"And what are you two up to?" Elladan teased.

"Nothing, we're bored," Legolas told them.

Elladan and Elrohir shared a look and carried the twins to their room. Once in it Legolas and Adela took a good look around, since they hadn't got one the last time and discovered that it was much like their own.

"So, been up to anything interesting today?" Elrohir asked.

"Just our normal lessons," Adela told him.

"Who tutors you?" Elladan asked.

"Erestor," the youngest two told him together.

"Oh, he can be quite demanding when it comes to studying," they were told.

"Well, he's nicer than our old tutor back in Mirkwood," Adela told them. "What have you been up to today?"

"Nothing much, just odd jobs for Ada."

"Oh, so is there anything to do around here on an evening?" Legolas asked.

"Normally children get together and play games, what did you do at Mirkwood?" they were told and asked.

"We'd be outside riding or walking or playing 'tag' or practicing weaponry," Legolas told them.

"Well, that sounds ok," Elrohir, told them, "Ada said something about you not being allowed to play."

"We only play tag to warm up for weaponry practice or to run off pent-up energy and then we do not make any noise. Children are to be seen and not heard and there are more useful things to do with your time than wasting it by playing," Legolas and Adela recited together. Elladan and Elrohir simply looked at them in shock.

"Ok, maybe Ada was right," Elladan, muttered. "On both you not knowing how to play and not breaking rules."

"But we've broke loads of Papa's rules since we came here," Legolas told them.

"Yeah," Adela agreed. "Children of the King should not show weakness in front of anyone, this includes holding each other's hand for support," came the recited rule. "We've done this all the time in Rivendell."

"Children are to be seen, not heard and should only speak when spoken to," Legolas told them. "I don't think we've been following that rule."

"Whoa," Elladan muttered. Legolas and Adela offered him weak smiles.

"Where you allowed to play at all?!" Elrohir asked.

"Only when we were alone with just our family. To do so in public would be improper," came the answer and the recited rule.

"Okay, okay, okay! Too many rules!" Elladan told them with a laugh. "Come on, we're going to raid the kitchens!"

"We're what?!" Adela and Legolas asked together, in utter shock, if they got caught they would surely be in trouble.

"Oh, come on," Elladan told them. "I'm hungry and I'm sure that there's some chocolate in there somewhere, we won't get caught."

"And you can be certain of this?" Legolas asked.

"We've done it loads of times," Elrohir told them, "don't worry. And besides Ada doesn't usually mind."

"Yeah, usually," Adela shot at them. "And aren't you two already in trouble with him?"

"Come on, it doesn't matter, we won't get caught and if we do, we won't be in trouble," Elrohir reassured them.

So, with that, Legolas and Adela followed the Rivendell twins towards the kitchens.


	13. A Storm

**It was only half an hour later when Legolas and Adela where back in their room, this time, however, with glasses of milk and squares of chocolate.**

**Sitting on Adela's bed, Legolas crossed his legs and looked out the window. "Everything's so different here," he commented.**

"**I know, it barely seems like you can get into trouble," Adela mused.**

"**Apart from Elladan and Elrohir when they yell at us," Legolas giggled. "Have you noticed how people look at us strangely, and how they seemed shocked by Papa's rules? What's wrong with the rules? In Mirkwood no one question's them at all and everyone's happy. We seem to have so much freedom here… it's scary without the structure of the rules."**

"**I know… I wonder how long we'll have to stay here?" Adela wondered.**

"**I don't know, a while yet I should think, we've only had two full days here," Legolas guessed.**

"**It seems so much longer than that, and although we're friends with Elladan, Elrohir and Arwen, I still miss home," Adela sighed.**

"**So do I, although it's nice here and everyone's kind, it's not home and I doubt it ever will be home. And Elladan and Elrohir will never take the place of our brothers, they just can't, its not possible for them to do so," Legolas told her.**

**Just then a cold breeze blew in from the open window and Legolas jumped down off the bed to close it. He realised how dark the sky had got and knew that they were going to have rain that night. He climbed up onto the windowsill and sat and looked out at the deserted gardens of the Last Homely House. Adela came and joined him and the two didn't speak for a while, both silently wondering when the rain would start. The sky was getting steadily darker and they could feel it getting colder so they both retrieved a jumper from their drawers and put it on. Adela's was a light mint green colour and Legolas' a dark blue, both of which went with their uniforms, which they were still wearing. It wasn't long before the rain started to fall and then it came down hard and fast and didn't show any sign of stopping anytime soon.**

**Legolas let out a little sigh. "Looks like the summer is finally over and autumn is here," he said.**

"**Yeah, it won't be winter for a while though and there shouldn't be any snow for at least two more months," Adela told him.**

"**That's good, because Papa promised he'd come and visit us before the first snows settled in," Legolas remembered. "I wonder what everyone's doing back home in Mirkwood at the moment?"**

"**If it's raining like this then everyone will be inside, either reading, talking quietly, cleaning weaponry, catching up on work or something. If we were there we'd probably be doing something with Danini, most likely baking. That or we'd be sat at the dining room table drawing," Adela said.**

"**Yeah, we'd never be stuck in our room, unless we were being punished, which was hardly ever. It makes me feel so lonely just being stuck in our room here… Elladan, Elrohir and Arwen never seem to be stuck in there rooms, but I suppose they have other friends here and don't need us tagging along with them. But imagine if our places had been swapped, if they were staying in Mirkwood… they wouldn't be left to sit in their rooms alone if they didn't want to, Papa would of made sure that they had one of us or our brothers with them, made sure that they had something to do…" Legolas trailed off, once more thinking of his family and how things were run back in Mirkwood.**

**Legolas and Adela passed the remaining time until their bedtime in their room, completing three pages of history from their Mirkwood workbooks.**

**They had been curled up in bed and sleeping soundly for a few hours when the storm broke out. It had still been raining heavily when they had gone to bed and on the first crash of thunder, both were jolted wide-awake. They weren't exactly scared, but they couldn't say that they liked the noise of the storm all that much though. The thunder sounded different from it did in Mirkwood, where it was absorbed by the sound of all the trees whistling and creaking in the wind. The lightning looked better then it did in Mirkwood, not getting lost in all the trees. In Rivendell the twins could see it streak across the sky. Legolas and Adela grabbed their bedcovers and teddies and curled up together on the windowsill, only wincing ever so slightly with each crash of thunder.**

**A couple of rooms along, the storm had also woken Elrohir. He sat up in bed sleepily before he became aware of what had awoken him. He chucked his pillow at Elladan who rolled over sleepily and claimed the pillow for his own, burying his head in it. "Elladan! Wake up!" Elrohir hissed quietly at his twin.**

"**What's the matter?" Elladan asked sleepily. "You're not scared are you?"**

"**Come on! Let's go check on Legolas and Adela!" Elrohir ordered.**

"**Good idea," Elladan told him, as he pulled his bed covers around his shoulders. "Lets go see how Thranduil's youngest two children are."**

**Elrohir also had his bed cover wrapped around his shoulders and the two slipped out of their room and down the corridor to Legolas and Adela's room. The knocked quietly and entered, scaring both Legolas and Adela.**

"**What are you two doing up at this time?" Adela asked.**

"**The storm woke us and we decided to check whether you two were ok," Elladan told them.**

"**We're fine, we just can't sleep with all the noise from the storm," Legolas told them.**

"**Come on then," Elrohir told them, "lets go sit downstairs where it's warmer."**

**So with bed covers wrapped around them and Legolas and Adela holding their teddies the four went downstairs and took refuge in one of the main halls, near the embers of the dying fire.**

**And the next day when Lord Elrond of Rivendell made his way downstairs he discovered Legolas using Elladan as a pillow and Adela using Elrohir as a pillow and they were all just a tangle of arms and legs and still sleeping soundly. He chuckled quietly to himself and made his way to the dining room. Indeed, Legolas and Adela were not what he expected at all, he thought.**


	14. Waking Up To Chocolate Chip Pancakes

**Legolas opened his eyes and wondered where he was. He wasn't in the room he and Adela had been given in Rivendell, so where was he? He shifted about a bit and heard someone give a groan. That someone was Elladan, who he was sprawled on top of. Legolas sat up so that Elladan could. Elladan then proceed to sit up and he pulled Legolas into his lap and wrapped both of the covers they had brought down around him. Legolas giggled slightly and lay his head on Elladan's chest whilst looking up at him and smiling slightly. Elladan smiled back down at him. "I see the storm's over then," he commented.**

"**Yes, but it's not very warm," Legolas said. Elladan held the young elfling tighter.**

"**It'll get colder, but it'll also snow and that's always fun. Do you have snow in Mirkwood?" Elladan, curious to know what it was like in Mirkwood. Elladan and Elrohir had started off on the wrong foot with Legolas and Adela but now the four were fast on their way to becoming firm friends.**

"**Of course we have snow in Mirkwood!" Legolas told him. "I love it when it snows, snowball fights with our older brothers are always fun!"**

"**I thought you weren't allowed to play?" Elladan questioned quietly, so as not to wake Elrohir and Adela and also so that no one would hear if they were standing outside the door. He remembered hearing from the twins about Thranduil's rules and he thought that they were crazy.**

"**Snowball fights only ever happen when we're alone with our family and we don't have to keep up appearances. It's during times with just our family that we play and muck about," Legolas explained patiently. "Don't worry, you'll get used to all the rules."**

"**I wont have to," Elladan told him with a grin. "I'm not the one living in Mirkwood, you're the one living in Rivendell and you and Adela with have to get used to breaking some rules! Rules were made to be broken," Elladan stated and began to tickle Legolas who squirmed in an attempt to get off Elladan's lap and began to laugh. This woke Elrohir and Adela who sat up and watched, laughing when Legolas couldn't escape Elladan's grip.**

**When he finally fell breathless against Elladan and Elladan stopped tickling him, Legolas shot a mock glare at Adela. "Thanks for all the support there, sis," he said sarcastically.**

"**Your welcome," Adela told him sweetly and Elladan and Elrohir couldn't help but laugh at Legolas and Adela's antics.**

**None of them heard the door open or see Elrond enter with a tray of food for them until he announced his presence. "I see the four of you are finally awake," he told them. Elladan, Elrohir, Adela and Legolas jumped.**

"**Ada! Don't do that!" Elrohir told him.**

**Elrond just chuckled. "Well, what were you four doing sleeping down here anyway? I'm pretty certain that you were all in your rooms when I checked on you when I went up to bed."**

"**You checked up on us?" Elladan asked.**

"**Indeed I did and that hasn't answered my question, Elladan," Elrond said.**

**Elladan and Elrohir shared a look. They were trying to work out of their father was mad or not. He sounded pretty stern. "Well?" Elrond probed.**

**Neither Elladan nor Elrohir answered, so Legolas did. "We were scared of the storm," he answered quietly, to his hands.**

**Elladan and Elrohir smiled at each other across Legolas' head, the young one was a friend all right. Elrond knelt in front of Legolas and lifted his chin with his hand. "You must learn to look at people when you talk to them, little one," Elrond said, remembering the incident in the school room two days ago when he had also had to lift Legolas' chin to get him to look him in the eye.**

"**Yes sir," Legolas answered in a whisper. Elrond still held his chin.**

**Elrond grinned at Legolas kindly. "And as for being scared by storms, don't worry about it. I can remember two twins who would run into my room at the first sign of a storm when they were a lot older than you are now!"**

**Elladan and Elrohir went red. "Ada!" they both protested together, weakly. Legolas and Adela giggled and Elrond gave his sons both a kiss on the forehead.**

"**Well, I brought you breakfast, so no complaining you two!" Elrond said teasingly. "And Seraphina has done what she always used to do for you two after a storm!"**

"**Who's Seraphina?" Adela asked.**

"**Our head cook," Elrond answered.**

"**She's brilliant!" Elladan said. "Because if Ada's talking about what I think he's talking about it means chocolate chip pancakes for breakfast."**

**Elrond laughed and left the room. "Enjoy it while you can. You two are cleaning out the stables today," Elrond told them.**

"**Ouch," Elrohir commented. "And on a Saturday!"**

"**Oh come on!" Elladan told him. "Chocolate chip pancakes! Come on you two, these are great!"**

"**I can't say we've ever tried them before," Legolas said as he sat down and took the plate Elladan handed him.**

"**You don't know what you're missing!" he was told and the four began to eat.**

**After breakfast they all went upstairs to get changed. They guessed that they must have presented a funny sight to Elrond, considering that their clothes were creased and their hair was a mess. Legolas and Adela found themselves not minding though.**

**Once in their room they changed into their winter work clothes, which consisted of dark blue cord trousers, a beige shirt and light blue braces. Then they put of their boots, grabbed their dark blue jackets and headed for the door. The play clothes that Arwen had had them measured for had arrived, but Legolas and Adela hadn't so much as thought about wearing them.**

**They found the stables without too much trouble and heard Elladan and Elrohir talking inside. "Those two horses are new. I've never seen them before," Elladan said.**

**Legolas and Adela looked around the door and saw Elladan looking at their horses. "They're ours," Legolas said and both Elladan and Elrohir spun round to face them.**

**Once he had got over the shock Elrohir commented, "Well, that makes sense."**

"**Yeah, the black one's mine and is called Nightshade, the white one is Adela's and is called Aurora," Legolas told them.**

"**Good names," Elladan told them. "What are you two doing here?" he then asked.**

"**We have today off until our study hour. Need any help?" Adela offered.**

"**You don't have to do that," Elrohir protested weakly.**

"**We know. But the sooner you're finished in here the sooner you can show us what there is to do in Rivendell!" Legolas informed them and the four laughed and got down to work.**


End file.
